


What's Wrong, Boy?

by wecouldbethestars



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alfred has past trauma that's alluded to but never specified, Gen, M/M, Master/Pet, Non-Sexual Submission, Nonverbal Communication, Owner!Arthur, Pet Space, Pet!Alfred, The franada is literally one sentence, This specific fic isn't kink, Well it's not really submission? i dunno, pet regression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 05:46:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19805977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wecouldbethestars/pseuds/wecouldbethestars
Summary: Arthur was patient. He only ever want's the man to be happy, and it hurts when he's upset. It also hurts the man's stomach when he's hungry. - Arthur comforts his pet while he's upset for no clear reason, and then they eat dinner.





	What's Wrong, Boy?

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have noticed there is a distinct lack of nonsexual headspace in general. Especially pet space. So uh. Here, have some.

Arthur Kirkland reached a hand up, rubbing around his left eye gently. He paused for a moment, waiting for the sound to stop, before sighing. He reached forward and placed the tea cup he’d previously been clutching down onto the saucer sitting on the coffee table. It landed with a clink, and the sound stopped momentarily.

Arthur did not move, and for a moment everything was suspended in tentative silence. Right as the man made to uncross his legs, the sound started up again. His head fell backwards and he shut his eyes, breathing in and out deeply. 

“Alfred, come here,” he said, lifting his head back up partially. Arthur did not turn from his position facing forward, but he reached to his right to pick up the abandoned TV remote. Pointing it forward, the rubber mute button was pressed down, and the low static of a woman speaking about some news event or other died out.

All was silent for another moment, and Arthur hoped the quiet whining sound that had been cutting through the air for the past few minutes would not return. Slowly, muffled thumps were heard as the man Arthur had called for began to move. Arthur blankly watched the same brunette newswoman chatter silently as the thumping continued. Soon, he spotted Alfred out of his peripheral vision. The man was on all fours, head positioned partially down as he paid attention to where he was going, as to not hit his head on any furniture. 

Arthur did not directly look at him until he was positioned at Arthur’s feet. Gently, Arthur reached down and stroked the man’s hair. His touch was gratefully leaned into, and Arthur took the initiative to gently rub his fingertip’s into the man’s scalp. In response, the man scooted forward to be more comfortably positioned between Arthur’s legs. He leaned his head to the side, before making the decision to rest his head fully on Arthur’s thigh. His eyes fluttered between open and closed, and his hand tapped gently on the carpet in front of his knees. The collar he was wearing dug slightly into Arthur’s leg, but he couldn’t find it in him at the moment to mind.

Another hand reached up to thumb gently at the ear of the man positioned in front of him. Normally, the couple would enjoy playing around with the fake ears that commonly sat atop the man’s head. Today, however, something seemed to be upsetting the poor boy, indicated heavily by the whining Arthur had been dealing with prior. As a result, the ears seemed to have been forgone. “What’s wrong, Alfred?” Arthur asked gently. He didn’t want to disturb the man, who seemed a lot calmer than he was previously.

Again there was a moment of silence. From day to day, the man was a ball of energy. But when the two were like this, it was as if everything was slowed down. He dug his chin into Arthur’s thigh after the moment was up, and let out a muted whine. Arthur’s eyes widened slightly, and the hand that had been rubbing the man’s ear slid down to his chin. Arthur tilted it up, and held their position. Eventually, blue eyes slid up to make hesitant eye contact with green ones. 

As they looked at each other, Arthur’s thumb glided up the man’s face, brushing over his bottom lip. It came to rest in the hollow of his cheek, and the slow circular motion seemed to calm him down. “You can tell me what’s wrong, dear,” Arthur prodded again. He made sure to keep his voice quiet- it felt as if too loud a voice or too sudden of a movement could shatter the very fabric of the reality they were currently living in. In response, the man leaned up and dug his face into Arthur’s stomach. Arthur patiently waited, and soon enough the man’s hand gently touched the couch between Arthur’s legs. 

The action caused Arthur to smile fondly down at him. “It’s alright, Alfred. Why don’t you come up here, hmm? Put your paws over here and I’ll guide you up, love,” he gently instructed, patting the space on the couch next to him. Again, the man waited to move from his position for longer than it would normally take someone to react. Slowly, he pulled his face away from Arthur’s midsection and shuffled back, removing the obstacles of the legs. A few muffled thumps sounded throughout the living room as the man moved to the side, and he shifted to reach up and onto the couch. As he stretched up, Arthur gently reached his hand out and placed it on the man’s back, guiding him up. His legs lifted off of the ground and onto the couch once he felt the security of Arthur’s hand on his back. 

The man tilted his head back and stretched his body slowly. Then, he laid down on his forearms, his head once again on Arthur’s thigh. He tilted it to the side this time, so it was partially resting against his stomach and partially looking up at him. Long legs stretched backwards, feet awkwardly hanging off of the couch.

Emerald eyes looked down warmly as the man rested his head down. “Hello, dear,” he greeted, smiling mildly down. Arthur’s hand reached out to stroke his pet’s back. Although the feeling was likely muffled by the spotted shirt the man was wearing, he pushed his head farther into Arthur’s stomach nonetheless, nosing gently at it.

“Alfred, are you going to tell me what’s the matter now?” he asked, only to receive a head shake in response. Arthur decided he had asked enough, and if his pet didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t talk about it. Arthur continued to stroke his back lightly, and the two sat there in peaceful silence.

After a while of the calm petting, the man began fidgeting with his legs and fingers. Arthur glanced down from the wall he’d been staring at, watching as his pet moved around. “What is it, boy?” Arthur asked, watching as the man flipped himself around slowly. He turned so that his stomach was facing up, his feet still dangling precariously off the couch. The man’s hands were positioned next to his head, one on Arthur’s knee and the other partially against his midsection. Arthur raised an eyebrow at the change in position, and the man grinned widely in response. His mouth fell open, tongue going with it. 

Arthur smiled, huffing in amusement. “Are you hungry boy?” Arthur prompted, only for the man to jump in excitement. He hastily tried to roll himself over, only to tumble off the couch. Arthur watched with amusement as the man somehow managed to land on his hands and knees. Right as he hit the ground, however, he was off, bolting towards the kitchen. Arthur didn’t believe someone could be so fast on all fours until he’d met his pet. 

Hands reached up towards the ceiling, their owner sighing as he stretched. Arthur pushed himself to his feet and made his way towards the kitchen, following his pet. As he walked into the tiled room, he was met with a very excited Alfred. His boy was sitting there, butt planted on the ground in between his legs, which were folded in half. His feet were sticking out behind him, wiggling. There were hands also planted on the ground, in between his thighs. His pet was looking up at him, panting with a huge smile. 

It still managed to shock Arthur every now and then with how easily Alfred made him smile. Before they’d met, Arthur had prided himself on being stoic. Emotions were complicated and only caused problems, so he’d made it a point to forgo showing them to others. But this stupid, grinning blond had came along and absolutely ruined it. He didn’t mind so much now- it was a good weakness to have, all things considered.

He mulled this over as he made his way to the fridge to retrieve his pet’s food. When they’d first started doing this, Arthur had insisted on making Alfred’s food. He quickly found out his food wasn’t liked very much, although he still couldn’t understand why. It tasted fine to him, after all. So now, whenever their friends came over- a French bastard and his little boy whose name he could never remember- they helped prepare Alfred’s food. Although he’d never admit it, Arthur was grateful for that. He didn’t know how he’d feed the boy otherwise. 

The man started tapping his palms against the floor as Arthur pulled the food out of the fridge. He shot a pointed look towards his pet over his shoulder, and the hand tapping stopped for the most part, although an occasional tap or two was still heard. Arthur closed the fridge and opened the tupperware over the counter. He moved to the other side of the kitchen and stooped down to retrieve the bowls out of their cabinet. The bowl Arthur pulled out was the color of the sky during the afternoon, with little white bones patterned around the sides. ‘Alfred’ was written on it sloppily in black sharpie. As Arthur placed the bowl on the counter, he fondly remembered when the man had scratched his name onto the bowl while Arthur was upstairs retrieving something. He’d came back downstairs and scrubbed at the bowl for hours, but the marker wouldn’t come out. The sad part of the event was that Arthur would have gotten his pet’s name put onto the bowl if he hadn’t done that without permission.

Arthur sighed lightly as the palm tapping started up again. The boy had so much energy; it was both endearing and exhausting. He quickly finished putting Alfred’s dinner together, and went to place it down. He glanced quickly at his pet and raised an eyebrow. “Easy, alright boy?” he gently reminded him, before setting the bowl down. Alfred made a pouty face, scrunching his eyes up briefly at Arthur before going for the food. He did, however, listen to his instructions, and didn’t eat like a monster.

As his boy enjoyed his dinner, Arthur filled up another bowl with water. It was identical to the bowl holding the food, except there was no crude sharpie claiming it. Once it was filled, Arthur slowly placed it next to the food bowl, making sure not to spill any water. He’d done that once and Alfred had tried to drink it off the floor. The next day, he wouldn’t stop whining about Arthur refusing to kiss him. That’s what you get when you lick the floor, though.

After everything was situated for his pet, Arthur retrieved his own food. He ate the remaining leftovers from the dinner that Alfred had cooked the night before. (He always insisted to cook when they weren’t like this, which Arthur also didn’t understand. His cooking tasted fine.) Alfred finished eating before Arthur did, and trotted under the table to lie at his feet. Not only was he energetic, but Arthur couldn’t help but think about how bloody warm the boy was as he laid across his feet. 

Arthur quickly washed the dinner dishes once he was done eating. He heard squeaking coming from the other room, and he had no doubt that his pet was attacking one of the toys Arthur had gotten him. He’d have to wash that later, too. Yet again, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not that he’d ever say it, but Arthur was just happy that his pet was enjoying himself. It was definitely preferable to how upset he’d been before. 

The water turned off with a splutter, and the squeaking noise of the toy abruptly stopped. Arthur made his way to the entrance of the kitchen, and was met with Alfred trotting up to him. Arthur began up the stairs, not glancing back. Alfred refused to crawl up the stairs because of something that had happened before they’d met. Although he wouldn’t tell Arthur the details, it sounded bad from what he knew of it. Alfred also didn’t like to be watched as he walked up the stairs, so Arthur always went up first without a complaint. He found it to be a slightly odd situation, but if it made Alfred comfortable, so be it. 

The pair stepped off of the stairs and towards their room. As he entered, Arthur flicked the light on. It was fairly simple, all things considered. A bed, two dressers, a window… nothing particularly fancy or odd about the place. Arthur made quick work of stripping out of his button up and slacks, replacing them with a light T-shirt. Alfred was already on the bed, curled up in a ball on his usual side of the bed. The track pants he’d been wearing had been discarded haphazardly on the floor, as usual. Arthur picked them up with a roll of his eyes and chucked them in the hamper before turning off the lights. He slipped into the bed, and grabbed the covers from the bottom, pulling them over himself and his pet. He gently stuck two fingers under Alfred’s collar to make sure it wasn’t too tight for him to sleep in and, finding it satisfactory, draped his arm across his pet’s back. The tips of his fingertips rubbed across Alfred’s back as he moved his head to be closer to Arthur’s chest. Arthur couldn’t help but wonder if he was listening to his heartbeat; he couldn’t help the small smile that escaped onto his face at the thought.

As the pair settled into bed, Arthur listened to the man’s breathing gradually even out. Eventually, he was asleep. Although it was hard for the man to open up to Arthur, he was patient. He’d waited for this long, and he was willing to wait longer. The man held a special place in Arthur’s heart, and he always did everything in his power to make sure he was happy, comfortable, and cared for.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any grammar mistakes feel free to (politely) point them out. I'd also really really really appreciate it if you left a comment- even if it's just 'asdkfjaskdhf' or 'AAAAAAAA', it'd be nice to know if people enjoyed this. Also if you read to the end feel free to hit the button with the read heart because it literally takes less than a second of your time. Thanks again and enjoy your day! You're beautiful ;)
> 
> Also please go and bother [Ludwiggle73](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludwiggle73/pseuds/Ludwiggle73) he's amazing! He read over this for my sorry ass and you should go read his stuff because he's really talented and great and awesome and spectacular and- //shot


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